On June 3, 1978, Mike “The Bike” Hailwood made a fairy tale return to racing when he rode to victory at record speed in the Isle of Man Formula 1 TT aboard his Sports Motorcycles Ducati 900 V-twin. Conventional wisdom says his legendary comeback came 11 years after he last raced in the Island and seven since he last rode a bike in international competition. True on the first count, but the Moreparts Ducati 750SS on permanent display in the Motorcycling Australia Museum proves otherwise on the second.

From pioneering performance to groundbreaking design and innovation that brought motorcycles to the masses, check out these top picks for the most influential motorcycles ever built.

Every motorcycle aficionado has ideas when it comes to naming the most important bikes ever built, and Somer Hooker is no exception. Hooker is a vintage bike broker with over 25 years in the business and he is also Chief Judge at the Celebration of the Motorcycle event in Del Mar, California. The HVA worked with Hooker to modify the current Preservation Award judging criteria to recognize preservation-class motorcycles...

The HVA Motorcycle Preservation Award will be presented at two shows in 2013. Click here to check out the list of judging criteria. But before you do, take a look at Hooker’s shortlist of the five most important motorcycles from the last 70 years.

Vicki Smith for Ducati.net's insight:

We like this list and think it's a pretty fair evaluation. Click HERE for the story on the HVA website

Good recap of the 1977 24 Hour win at Nelson's Ledges, which underlined the message already delivered by Cook Neilson and Phil Schilling at Daytona, that it wasn't just about big power, you needed the whole package, and Ducati had it.

The link gets you to this weeks Cycle News, the archive story is on page 92, you can enter the page number at the top center to go straight there....

Every now and then, it’s good to go back to square one. To revisit the baseline, if you like. And for me, that’s an immaculate classic motorcycle captured by a skilled photographer. Like this matching-numbers 1973 Ducati 750 Sport.

The Wrenchmonkees are one of the most aesthetically tasteful and unique custom motorcycle builders in the world today, when you see a new Wrenchmonkees bike for the first time you can instantly see the design language of the Danish garage running through the build, almost like mechanical DNA.

This bike is one of my favourite builds yet from the Wrenchmonkees, it’s based on a Ducati 750ss but you’d be hard pressed to see any similarities to the original bike. All the 90s style fairings have been removed, the bright red paint has been stripped off and replaced with understated industrial metal hues, very much a signature of the garage....More on the headline link above

The co-host of the BBC's Top Gear auto show is also a certified motorcycle nut.

You probably know James May as the genial co-host of the most popular auto show in the world, Top Gear. But May is also a certified motorcycle nut, with a delectable stable of machines including two Moto Guzzis, and he regularly features in the excellent British magazine Classic Bike. Being a good sort, he’s taken a moment out of his hectic filming schedule to tackle the traditional ten questions of the Bike EXIF interview.What was the first motorcycle you bought with your own money? 1974 Honda CB750/four (below), the four-pipe K-series. Not really a good first bike. Terrible brakes and so on.

What do you think is the most beautiful production motorcycle ever built? In some ways the 70s Ducati 750SS (below). But in others it’s the original Honda Cub, for what it represents....

Sometimes a motorcycle comes along that I’d quite happily hold the Pope hostage in order to buy. For me, this 1972 Ducati 750 SS 200 Miglia Imola Corsa ‘Replica’ is one such bike.

Taking place in the tiny European principality of Monte Carlo, the Monaco RM Auction be taking place between the 11th and 12th of May 2012, which at the time of writing, gives you a good 5 months to save up enough clams to take home this stunningly beautiful vintage Ducati 750 SS from the private collection of former Ducati factory test-rider and Ducati dealership owner, Carlo Saltarelli. More...

Ducati 750 SS. The Monkees’ do it again and this time naked means naked. Not an original fairing left. That hand fabricated tank is art… it’s art. Peace & Grease, Jacob (RT @JakobAgaetis: Photoset: Ducati 750 SS.

A superb and rare photo, made from the original negative, of the great Fabio Taglioni, Paul Smart and Bruno Spaggiari celebrating their very historic and very famous 1-2 victory in the 200 miles race of Imola in 1972. This historic photo was taken on the 23rd of May 1972, moments after they were given the winners trophy! Note the finish flag on Paul Smart’s winning bike, this flag was actually used when he crossed the finish line as the winner!

On the Ducati with number 9 we see Bruno Spaggiari. In the middle, accepting the well deserved trophy, we see the famous designer of the winning Ducati: Fabio Taglioni. A man that needs no further introduction. Right, on the Ducati with the finish-flag draped over the fairing, we see racewinner Paul Smart.

That day a crowd of 70,000 people saw Paul Smart on Ducati win the heavily battled 200 miles race of Imola. Smart’s team mate Bruno Spaggiari finished 2nd. Both are pictured on the photo, as well as the designer of this an many more Ducati race- and roadbikes! It was the debut race of Ducati’s new 750 desmodromic V-twin, with its bevel driven overhead camshafts. Works riders Paul Smart and Bruno Spaggiari dominated the numerous factory teams in the race, finishing 1st and 2nd on modified race versions of the 750SS streetbike. It gave instant fame to Ducati’s V-twin sporting models –a fame that lasts still today! The photo was taken just after the race, when the two motorcycle legends celebrated their great performance in the traditional way.

The Ducati 750 Imola Desmo is one of the most famous bikes in the world. It is best known, and, of course named after, its victory with Paul Smart and Bruno Spaggiari in the 200 mile race at Imola in 1972 – one of the most spectacular in racing history. Much has been written about the fantastic final lap, which saw Smart and Spaggiari side by side almost all the way to the finishing line, but how this race changed the destiny of the Italian manufacturer has been relatively unexplored.

The win at Imola defined Ducati’s future approach to racing, with the manufacturer focusing its attention almost exclusively on production-derived machines. However, before explaining more about the importance of Paul Smart, Imola and the legendary “number 16 Ducati 750 Imola”, we must take a step back in time.

In 1972 Checco Costa bought the 200 Mile formula to Italy and Ducati prepared eight bikes to be ridden by Paul Smart, Bruno Spaggiari, Ermanno Giuliano, and Alan Dunscombe. The bikes had production frames and engines, but were prepared, as usual, in a very short time. Most of this work, however, probably still goes unnoticed, as it was concerned with the smallest details: wherever possible, each part of the bike was painstakingly filed down and lightened. In addition, new Dellorto carburetors with 40 mm choke tubes and accelerator pumps arrived just in time, providing a perfect supply of fuel for the big twin-cylinder, which delivered 80 hp at 8,500 rpm. At Imola, Spaggiari reached the finish line with his gas tank almost empty and so could not snatch the victory from Smart.

The Imola racers featured Ducati’s famous 4-stroke longitudinal split 90° V twin engine. The crankcase cylinder and cylinderheads were cast in light alloy; the cylinders had cast-iron liners. Bore and stroke was 80 x 74.4 mm. Cylinder capacity was 747.95 cc. The racers had a compression ratio of 10:1. Ducati was already famous for its desmodromic single overhead camshafts, driven by bevel-gears. It was also present on the Imola racing machines. Each head had two valves. The air cooled engine featured wet sump lubrication. Two Dell’orto PHF 40 carburetors with accelerator pump fed the fuel mixture in the combustion chambers. A twin-plug contact-breaker ignition system was present. The Imola racers had a five-speed gearbox and primary drive by gears, final drive was by chain. A wet multi-plate clutch was also present. The engine delivered a power output of 82 hp at 9,000 r.p.m. Enough for a topspeed of 156.25 mph (250 km/h)!

Amazingly, these Ducati 750cc desmodromic V-twin machines were totally new, it was the first time they had their race outing. In a long battle Smart and Spaggiari beat the heavy competition of MV Agusta and Giacomo Agostini, three works Moto Guzzi’s, four works BSA and Triumph Triples, three works Norton’s and 2 works Honda’s… An astonishing feat for a new roadracer! It was an amazing day in Ducati history and it brought once again well deserved fame to Fabio Taglioni’s extraordinary desmo V-twin design!

The Ducati 750 ‘s were often used in production based racing on both sides of the Atlantic. In the early 1970’s, long distance racing was extremely popular in Europe, especially Italy. These events were responsible for the quick gaining popularity of the heavier sports motorcycle, like the Ducati 750 SS, the Moto Guzzi V7 Sport, the Benelli 650 Tornado, the BMW R 90 S Daytona and the Laverda SFC 750; but also the Japanese sports motorcycles like the Kawasaki 350, 500 and 750 triples, but also heavy four strokes like the Honda CB 750 Four. Riders that would make world fame, like Franco Uncini and Marco Lucchinelli, all participated in these races before they made the steps to the Grand Prix World Championship racing scene.

Today, the Ducati Sport Classics models like the PaulSmart 1000, the Sport 1000 and the GT 1000, pay all directly tribute to the Imola era and the wonderful Ducati bikes that came from it!

The Imola 750 1-2 is regarded as the most classic victory Ducati ever scored. It is rare to obtain a photo like this, therefore it is printed in a nice large format of approx. 8" x 12" (20 x 30 cm). It is great the way it is, and would look gorgeous when framed.

We have more photos listed on Ebay of Paul Smart , Bruno Spaggiari , Dr. Fabio Taglioni , Ducati and other brands with various riders. Please check out our Ebay auctions and take advantage of our shipping discount! You can also always contact us with requests

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